Chapters of a Journey
by GreatGoldDragon
Summary: :A 100 Theme Challenge: Two red coats join together to create their own Journey; to explore their dying world to the bitter end. These are a series of stories of what they go through and what they learn, as well as the friendships they create in their travels.
1. Meetings

The sun blazed over the slopes of sand, light reflecting off of the ground. No clouds were in the sky; just an orb of heat and the blue ceiling.

A lone figure was seated in the sand, red cloak shining its position from the gold ground. It was asleep, head and back bent slightly over its folded cloak.

The air was still and silent; nothing moved besides the red figure's steady breathing. Everything seemed frozen; the mountain with the bright summit stood tall in the distance, instilling a feeling of stillness.

And then it was all broken, the silent image shattering as the cloaked humanoid woke up. It shook itself, scattering sand, and looked towards the looming mountain, feeling bored. It was going to go back to sleep, when something caught its eye. Squinting and leaning forward slightly, it watched as a small black dot became visible. The object was hovering over the sand, flying in a straight line. It was steadily becoming larger.

He wondered if he should get up. There was every possibility that the object might be aiming for him. You never know, his ancestors might have created a device that thrust a rock at a target from a large distance.

Really, he couldn't be bothered with moving. He's been sitting here for the past few days meditating and he didn't want to break the streak right now.

By now, the red cloaked humanoid could see the object a little more clearly. It looked like a flat triangle, dust billowing out behind it. There was also something on it. Something that looked oddly familiar…

He might have figured it out, but then the flying object rushed by him so fast that all thought process was lost and had to be reloaded.

There was a loud bang, accompanied with a large splash of sand that flew over the red humanoids head. He sat there for a moment, then stood up and turned around.

The object, whatever it was, had flown right into a sand dune. Smoke billowed out of the machinery, for that was what it was.

After a second, the red humanoid walked over to it, white eyes wide with curiosity. He was almost in front of it, when a loud chirp sounded from behind him.

_Don't touch that!_

He spun around instantly, looking at the newcomer with surprise.

It was another red coated humanoid, though much younger than himself. It quickly pushed its way past him, eyes only for the little machine that had smashed itself into the sand.

_It's mine!_

He watched in puzzlement as the other creature pulled its hands out of its coat and started to dig the machine out of the sand.

_What…are you doing?_ He chirped quietly, waiting for an answer as the other humanoid pulled the object out of its would-have-been grave, brushing the sand off of its metal surface.

_I found it in some ruins. _It chirped, ignoring the others question and holding the machine up to the sun. _I was barely able to turn it on, and even then it malfunctioned. Must have been there for a long time._

_Oh, and my names Shade. _It stuck out its hand towards the other red coat. _What's yours?_

He cautiously took the others hand, chirping, _Mederin._

_Cool._

The red coat turned its attention back on the little machine, hands skittering over its smooth frame.

_So…what's that supposed to be?_

_Your guess is as good as mine._ Shade chirped, turning the object upside down. _Though from how well it was flying, it could be some transportation device. _

After a second, Shade turned and trudged up the sand dune that the machine had crashed into, still looking at the object in his hands. Mederin followed after him, feeling slightly awkward.

Shade sat on top of the dune, still tinkering with the machine. Mederin kept standing, wondering if the other red coat wanted to be left alone.

_Well, sit down then. Or do you have any other plans?_

Mederin sat, chirping _What do you plan to do with that thing?_

Shade sat up straight, looking at the other red coat for the first time. _Absolutely nothing._

_Then what's the whole point? _Mederin looked at him in confusion and disbelief. _Why mess with something for no absolute reason?_

_Why wouldn't I?_ The red coat chirped. _There is nothing much I can do here, and our ancient past has already shown us that our world is dying, so what else could I do?_

_Go to the mountain?_ It was a stupid question and Mederin was not expecting an answer from the other humanoid.

_That's overrated. _Shade turned back towards the little machine in his lap. _Too many go there already. At least the few who stay in the desert try to create tribes and groups to live out our planets last days. Ah!_

The metal machine gave a little sputter, smoke spurting out of the pipe that poked out of its back. It popped, and then a blue light appeared on its belly. Shade had to let go of it as it flipped right side up, floating up in the air.

Shade stood up, placing his hands back under his coat. The little machine stood still in the air, sand billowing softly underneath it.

After a minute of watching it, Shade flipped the thing on its back with a quick motion and pressed his fingers in several different parts. The blue light sputtered, then went out and Shade had to catch it before it fell.

_What…?_

Mederin watched as the red coat bent down and buried the machine into the sand, patting the ground softly.

Shade stood up, still looking down at the little mound. _It's for anyone else who wants to find it. I'm done with it, so now, if they have enough curiosity, then someone else can play with it. _

The red coat spun around and started to walk away, towards the mountain.

Mederin watched him for a second, then raced over to catch up, skidding to a halt in front of the other humanoid.

_Can I come with you?_

Shade widened his eyes in surprise, but remained silent.

_I've stayed here long enough, and I haven't had a companion for awhile. Is it alright if I accompany you?_

_It's fine._ Mederin let out a sigh of relief.

Shade tilted his head, looking at the red coat in curiosity. _Why would you want to follow me though? _

Mederin shrugged. _Like I said, I have stayed here for awhile and I haven't had a friend for a long time. _

_Not many want to accompany me. _

_And why is that?_

_I'm weird._

Mederin blinked. _Everyone is different._

_If you say so..._

Mederin turned towards the mountain, but scanned the way towards it instead of the thing itself. _Where are you going?_

Shade shrugged. _Anywhere. I've been wandering the desert for awhile. Looked at most of the ruins that are scattered here and there. _

_Have you been to the Underground? _Mederin chirped, looking over at his new companion.

_No, but I've heard of it._

_Then we should go there first._ The red coat started off towards the mountain, aiming for the opening of the underground ruins. The other red coat watched him, then caught up quickly, the sun just starting to dim.

_Thank you for allowing me to follow you._

_No, thank you. I haven't had a friend in forever to share my travels. _

**And so starts a friendship that lasts the Journey of both beings. **


	2. Wander

**Wander**

It wasn't too bad traveling with an eccentric person like Shade. Though a few events did put him off (like the time the young journeyer had spun in circles for days to see what would happen), Mederin didn't leave.

For one, he had no idea what he would do without Shade occupying his time. The world, though large, was pretty boring. Traveling and exploring was interesting, but it was essentially the same thing day in and day out.

Shade spiced things up a bit. Lightly hopping off of the edge of a canyon and floating down was peaceful, but throwing oneself off into the dark chasm and only just catching yourself before you hit the ground was something else.

The first time that happened, Mederin had thought that the red coat had committed suicide, at least until the other had called for him to get down here or _I'll pull you down myself!_

That had been a rather interesting experience.

A second reason he did not want to leave Shade was because he felt that he was actually doing something. Like he was breaking away from the beaten path that everyone else followed. The younger red coat did things that Mederin has never dreamed of.

Trying to ride a Guardian was something that never crossed his mind. It was a once in a life time experience.

Doing things that wasn't considered normal (as normal as things could get, with no one remembering who the hell they actually were) made Mederin feel like he was changing history. Of course, he was doing nothing of the sort, but new ideas led to change and something might come out of it one day.

But then there is the certainty that nothing will change and their fate was inevitable. They both will eventually (1), make their way to the top of the mountain with the others, or (2), die somewhere with no one to remember them. The cycle of awakened journeyers will continue until the sun and earth die.

Whenever Mederin brought the subject up to Shade, there would be a one sided argument which would end with the young red coat storming off to who knows where.

Mederin though that it wasn't exactly the thought of their world ending that bothered Shade, but that his journey would. That no matter what Shade did, it will all end and nobody would give a damn.

All of the new discoveries, ideas, and actions would disappear with his death.

Death was something that neither of them liked. The few times they did encounter a body, Shade wouldn't stay around for long. The ending of another's journey was something neither of them liked to think about.

The death of a Guardian impacted the other red coat just as badly. Mederin himself had no feelings for them, but Shade did have more experience with the things.

The one time they had found one, already starting to be buried in the sand with its one eye flickering, Shade didn't move from the area until it was most defiantly gone. The red cloak had sat with it in its last moments, silently watching as what little life it had dissipated.

Mederin didn't understand at the time, and he didn't ask about it for a long time. He had almost forgotten about it until they came across a lifeless snow-buried skeleton of one.

When they had found a spot to rest for the night, Mederin remembered getting in a conversation about the old event with his companion.

_Why did you stay with the other one?_

Shade had looked up from his musings and stared at the older red coat intently.

_You remember that?_

_ Only just now._

He tipped his head to the side, thinking.

_…it was sad._

Mederin waited for a clearer answer.

_If we hadn't come along, it would have died alone._

The red coat straightened up.

_I do not know if it had friends or family, or even if it could think for itself. I do not know if it even knew it was dying. _

Shade went silent for a second, prompting Mederin to speak.

_You did not want it to die by itself._

_ Yes…I sat by it as it let go and I hoped someone would do the same for me when the day came._

Mederin would not allow himself to leave his companion after that. Wherever Shade's journey took him, Mederin's would follow after.

* * *

**Sorry everything is jumbled. Since this ****is**** a 100 theme story, I want to have about half be real stories and the other half be thoughts. **

**Nothing is going to be in a set time line. An event that takes place before another will probably be ten chapters after it instead.**

**Anyway, I forgot to add a disclaimer****_._**** The concepts of the video game ****_Journey_**** did not come from my imagination. I had nothing to do with the making of the game. **

**I've also never played the game. I want to, but the PS3 died and I don't have 30 bucks to buy the game on Amazon. **


	3. Voice

**Thank you for all of the reviews; I now know why people are always asking for them. :D**

Both Journeymen have encountered the Words that were scattered around on rocks and walls. Mederin never gave them much thought; he knew that they enhanced the power of your scarf and that was all.

The first time they encountered a Word together, the older red-coat had simply allowed the energy to mingle with his own and was ready to leave. To continue on to wherever they were going.

Shade, however, stopped in front of the Word and traced a finger down its carved surface.

_What does it sound like?_

_...What?_

_What does it sound like to you?_

Mederin was quiet for a second, then whispered the Word quietly so he could hear it again.

_A flow._

Shade looked up from his musings over the Word and blinked at him.

_It sounds smooth and flows through the air like water._

The younger red-coat nodded and pulled his hand away from the ruin. Standing straight, Shade chirped his own thoughts out loud.

_I felt that it represented freedom. _He turned towards Mederin. _Like you said, it sounds like a flow of something. That could mean water, air, or even thought._

Mederin just nodded at the time; his own definition of the Word sounded pitiful compared to Shade's.

* * *

The next time they encountered a significant Word, it was deep in the Underground. It was carefully hidden; both red-coats chanced upon it when they were spotted by a rather persistent Guardian. It paced outside of their hiding spot and didn't seem to want to leave for awhile.

The Word itself was dim and almost invisible; it was carved into a stone door, only barely lighting up the surrounding area.

Mederin didn't notice it until Shade spoke up. The younger Journeyman traced it with his hand while Mederin repeated the Word to himself.

_This one...is unique. _Shade tapped it twice before turning to his companion. _What does it sound like to you?_

_It reminds me of the past._

Shade nodded at the remark, turning back to the Word.

_Mercy._ Mederin watched the other red-coat quietly as he continued. _That is what it sounds like. Something behind this door made the Word's creator ask for mercy from readers._

Shade turned from the door and poked his head out to check the area their pursuer had just been pacing.

_The Guardian is gone. We can leave._

_...Why don't you want to know about what's behind there?_ Mederin gestured towards the door.

Shade's back was turned towards him and he didn't move when he answered.

_Some things in the past...are too dangerous to be unearthed._

The older red-coat was surprised to hear his companion say 'too dangerous', as the other did everything that involved dangerous, and was about to push for a better answer when Shade lifted a hand up to shush him.

_I enjoy learning about our past. _Shade turned to Mederin. _I really do. But when there is __Mercy__ written on a door that is hidden from sight, then I don't want to know what our ancestors did that was far worse than destroying the lives of countless others. _

_Those things are not worth learning about. _

* * *

The last Word that they encountered together was in a place so cold that neither of them could feel their feet.

A while back, a Guardian had spotted them from the sky and had targeted them. Mederin was not able to push his friend out of the way, but he was able to position himself so that he took the brunt of the charge.

Shade had to lean on his companion for support as they tried to find a place to rest. To Mederin, it seemed bitterly ironic that Shade, who was the smarter and more intelligent of the two, was the one who buckled under the cold the fastest.

It only took a minute or two to find shelter. It stuck out from one of the walls of stone and ice that were razed on either side of them. It was small, with one round chamber at the entrance and a short hall that lead to nowhere on the side.

Neither of them were up for continuing on.

The trek up the mountain had been a spur of the moment idea. They had been at the base of it looking for any potential tunnels or fissures, when Shade had spotted a pair of travelers working their way up. It didn't get bad until the Guardians came out, an icy wind following behind them.

The cold seeped through the walls and ground, making the place just as hostile as the outside. The only good thing about it was that there was no sharp wind blowing in their faces.

Mederin slowly got to his feet and tried to shake any excess snow off of his cloak. Shade stayed where he was on the ground, frayed scarf curled around him to try and conserve body heat.

Mederin noticed the Word after trying to follow the tunnel. It ended in a smooth wall, but the faint light from the side brightened up the area.

Upon seeing it, the older red-coat hurried back to his companion, intent on getting them both to it before they got too weary to move.

_Shade._

Mederin gripped the shoulders of the other red-coat and pulled him to his feet. The other had to lean on Mederin, but at least he opened his eyes.

_Shade, I found a Word. It's only a little ways away._

The younger Journeyman blinked a few times, focused on Mederin for a second, then closed his eyes.

_Words...don't restore energy..._

_But the area where it is will be warmer than next to the entrance._

Mederin guided his friend towards the glowing carving and sat down with him in front of it.

As the older red-coat chirped the Word out loud, Shade stretched out a shaky hand and traced the carved sign.

_Hope._

Shade dropped his hand as Mederin continued.

_It means hope._

The younger red-coat nodded and closed his eyes, leaning against his companion's shoulder.

Mederin had understood the Word perfectly.


End file.
